Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation March 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is proposing to amend its regulations implementing the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, to exempt certain records that will be maintained in a system of records entitled ``PBGC-17, Office of Inspector General Investigative File System)PBGC'' from the access, contest, and certain other provisions of the Privacy Act. The amendment would protect the information gathered to carry out the Office of Inspector General's law enforcement mission to investigate criminal, civil, and administrative matters.

This is a final rule to amend PBGC's regulation on Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting. The amendments implement the provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, Public Law 109- 280 (PPA 2006), which changed the standards for determining which persons are required to report under section 4010 (Authority to Require Certain Information) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and made other changes to the reporting requirements. In addition to providing guidance on implementing the PPA 2006 changes, the final rule waives reporting in certain cases for controlled groups with aggregate plan underfunding of $15 million or less, modifies the standards for determining which plans are exempt from the actuarial information requirements, revises the actuarial information requirements to conform with other PPA 2006 changes, and provides other clarifications.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'') has received a request from the Service Employees International Union Local 1 Pension Trust Fund for approval of a plan amendment providing for special withdrawal liability rules. Under section 4203(f) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the PBGC's regulation on Extension of Special Withdrawal Liability Rules, a multiemployer pension plan may, with PBGC approval, be amended to provide for special withdrawal liability rules similar to those that apply to the construction and entertainment industries. Such approval is granted only if the PBGC determines that the plan amendment will be used in an industry with characteristics that would make use of the special rules appropriate and that the plan amendment would not pose a significant risk to the PBGC. This notice advises interested persons of the pendency of this request and invites public comment.